Step By Steps Skin Care
This guide helps you understand the science of skin providing a regimen to perfect, healthy, supple skin, radiant 24 hours a day. Both men and women should take care of their skin, but males expose their skin to much harsher stresses through shaving. More information on skin care is available on http://www.beautifulscience.com
External Skin Care:
Be wary of skin care lines that use formaldehyde preservatives. Unfortunately a large majority of cosmetic products use toxic chemicals that have negative long-term side-effects and may be the cause of some allergies. Parabens are the safest known preservatives, often used in foods, but recent studies have shown that people with sensitive skin and allergies may suffer from the use of products that contain parabens. The best products use a self-preserving formulation you may read more about in the next section on Technologies.
Some companies claim to have products that do not contain parabens, but they still contain other formaldehyde-producing chemicals, such as Quarternium 15, 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1, 3-diol, dizolidnyl urea, DMDM Hydantoin, or Sidum Hydroxyglycinate. These chemicals are effective in killing anything that comes in contact with them, so imagine what they could be doing to your skin.
If you would like to find out about specific products that can give you this ultimate skin care routine without the use of parabens, contact me for questions or samples, or to request to join my mailing list.
Step 1: Cleanse
To begin external care for your skin, you should cleanse morning and night twice a day. A good gel-based cleanser will not foam up or cause irritation of the skin even for sensitive skin types. The reason that some cleansers foam is that they are soap-based products with basic (low pH) properties. Ideally, use warm water to open the pours of your skin and then use a gentle, neutral, soap-free cleanser to wash away dirt and impurities without drying your delicate skin. Proper cleansing is at the core of any skin-care regimen, and is essential to use an effective cleanser that is still mild enough for daily use.
Step 2: Tone
The purpose of a toner is to refresh and revitalise your skin by removing any lingering impurities after cleansing. It should also balance the pH of your skin and combat any environmental influences.
Use a toner with hydrating properties as many of these products tend to dry the skin out and sometimes irritate sensitive skin. If you have very dry or sensitive skin, choose a hydrating toner, or a non-drying formula. If drying occurs try reducing the amount of toner you use, or if you have combination skin only use it on the part of your skin that needs it. A good hydrating toner restores the pH balance of your skin and leaves it ready for moisturising, helping you combat harsh environmental effects. Your skin should be left tightened, toned, and hydrated. Do not rinse off toner!
Use a toner with Allantoin to soothe the skin and stimulate healthy new tissue growth. Grape extract in a toner externally nourishes your skin with vitamins A, C, and E. These are vital to the health of your skin.
Avoid applying toner with your hands. Use a cotton bud or cotton pad, saturate it in toner, then wipe over your face and neck. Always tone directly after cleansing because it tightens your pours and protects you from collecting impurities.
Step 3: Exfoliate
Use a gentle exfoliate approximately 2 to 3 times a week after cleansing and instead of toning.
Our skin goes through a natural process of cells growing at a lower layer and then as new cells are generated, the older ones are pushed to the outer layers and at one point their life-cycle ends, and the dead cells are pushed off and should detach from us. However, this does not always occur, because if your skin is oily, the dead cells get trapped on your skin and sometimes covered by other skin, creating a build up of dirt and dead skin. As your skin ages, surface skin renews itself less often, leaving behind dry, flaky skin. Dead skin cells dull the complexion, inhibit moisture absorption, and cause breakouts.
Your daily regimen will remove a majority of these impurities but every once in a while to boost the effect, revealing a youthful appearance and luminous skin with its deep-clean. Exfoliation loosens and dissolves dead skin cells, and reveals the fresher cells beneath giving a healthier complexion. A good brand of exfoliate will have further external nutrients such as Aloe and natural amollients to nourish and refresh leaving your skin smoother, clearer, and more radiant.
For example, papain, which is a natural fruit enzyme breaks down the bonds of keratin cells in your skin, then granules of rice-bran or otherwise are used to gently loosen the broken down keratin cells which can then be washed away with warm water. Exfoliates can be applied by hand, but use small circular motions with wet fingertips to really get the granules working. Do not over-use exfoliates as that may irritate your skin. Three times a week is a good frequency.
Step 4: Nutrition by Masque
A masque should give a secondary exfoliation process for any remaining impurities but it should also be able to unclog pours and remove excess oils. Most importantly, you need a masque to replace lost nutrient by inject vitamins and minerals and other nourishing plant extracts into your skin. The result is a soothing, softening, restoration of your skin.
Natural emollients, shea and mango butter can help in depositing a rich blend of lipids to soften and smooth your skin, and clay can remove excess oils and impurities to leave your skin feeling firm. Good products will have some kind of protein from soybean because it is a n intense moisturiser, rich in isoflavones, amino acids, and other nutrients. Echinacea and centella asiastica are other great ingredients that tighten your skin's appearance and increase its elasticity. Grape and green tea extract are also common ingredients that deliver powerful antioxidant protection from environmental stresses and pollutants in the air.
The masque step is an excellent opportunity for you to add nutrients because they are left on the skin for an extended period of time. Your skin needs Proflavanol-T, Proteo-C, in addition to the vitamins A, C, and E, as well as several essential amino acids.
Use a masque after exfoliation approximately 3 times a week. You should apply it generously in a layer to clean skin from your neck to forehead and relax for typically 20 minutes or follow the instructions on your own masque product. When finished, rinse off with warm water for your beautiful youthful glow.
Step 5: Refine
This is an optional step but many refining products can help you combat signs of ageing and brighten your skin. Use these products after toning.
Good refining products focus on enhanced exfoliation and increased collagen production, and provide long-term renewal and refinement for your skin. There are several technologies used in such products to reduce signs of aging. One example is the advanced Dermal Surface Renewal (DSR) technology, a marine-source age-defying complex. DSR is clinically proven to visibly retexture, brighten, even, and firm the skin's surface.
If you have sensitive skin, avoid products with alpha-hydroxy acids. Such products can be used daily. Good products contain alpha and beta-hydroxy acids to diminish signs of ageing, such as fine lines, wrinkles, and uneven skin tone. Alpha-hydroxy acids, such as glycolic acid, lactic acid, malic acid, and tartaric acid act as strong exfoliates, skin firmer, and humectants. Beta-hydroxy acids such as salicylic acid help unclog pours, reduce the appearance of fine lines, and also act as powerful exfoliant. Licorice can also help to brighten and soothe. Such products are usually designed to show results over an extended period of time, but good products will begin to show that they work right away.
After toning apply with hands onto your clean face and neck, and follow with moisturising.
Step 6: Moisturise
You should moisturise with different products depending on whether it is daytime or night.
The primary role of a moisturiser is to add moisture to the skin after it has been cleansed. Everyone should moisturise after a good cleanse and tone. However, it is also an ideal time to introduce further nutritional nourishment to the cells of the skin. However, during the day your skin's needs will differ from its needs while you're sleeping.
Exposure to the sun can contribute to line, wrinkles, and dull complexions. Your daytime moisturiser should have a sunscreen to protect your skin from the full spectrum of harmful UVA and UVB rays while still providing you with intense hydration.
An excellent technology called Regenisomes is an advanced complex that quickly restores the skin's appearance after sun exposure by supporting the skin's natural renewal process. If you would like to find out about some moisturising products that use it, contact me. There is also a section later that goes into detail about some of these technologies.
To neutralise the harmful UVA radiation use products with the active ingredient avobenzone, and for UVB neutralisation check that your product has octyl methoxycinnamate which is most widely used as an organic sunscreen product because it is water soluble and adheres to the skin.
At night, your body has an internal clock, called the circadian system. It functions according to its exposure to light and dark, and synchronises your body's activities accordingly. During deep sleep, your body goes to work refilling the depleted stores of energy and undoing the damage of daily stress. This is an ideal time to provide your skin with concentrated nourishment. Your night-time moisturizer should not only provide moisture to your skin, but should be laden in nutrients such as vitamins A, E, zinc, isoflavones, and soy protein.
Cell renewal is important even at night-time, to undo the damages of the sun during the day. However, using a technology like DSR discussed in a later section will visibly reduce existing signs of ageing and can refine and firm your skin.
Apply moisturisers by hand after refining or toning, using gentle, light, upward strokes.
Lastly, Internal Skin Care:
In addition to regular cleansing, toning, exfoliating, and moisturising, it is essential to understand that skin care starts on the inside. If your body is healthy, your skin reflects your health.
As a bare minimum, you need a combination of some good quality nutritional supplements and essential fatty acids which are basic building blocks for healthy skin and hair.
Regimen at a glance
Jackie Khor